Reno Jazz Orchestra brings blues, swing and soul to Reno, Lake Tahoe

Performing the best of Cole Porter to Stevie Wonder, the Reno Jazz Orchestra’s 17-piece jazz band will present “Music of the Masters” - a live performance of blues, swing, and soul with award winning vocalists Jamie Davis and Clairdee on Friday, September 2 at the Robert Z Hawkins Amphitheatre in Reno, NV, and Saturday, September 3rd, at Sand Harbor State Park on the edge of Lake Tahoe’s north shore.

Tickets for Music of the Masters can be purchased on line at RenoJazzOrchestra.org. These family-friendly two-hour concerts start at 7:30 p.m.

“We look forward to two extraordinary nights,” said Chuck Reider, Music Director for the Reno Jazz Orchestra. “We always enjoy every opportunity to play under the stars with super –star talent.

“Jamie Davis holds a position amongst the pantheon of great male vocalists with a compelling full deep, baritone voice and passion for his craft,” noted Reider who then touted the talents of Clairdee’s “lustrous voice, soulful delivery, and scene-stealing charisma that are equally smart and entertaining”.

The Reno Jazz Orchestra is a 17-piece contemporary big band based in Northern Nevada. The band was formed in 1997 by musicians who have performed with acts such as Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Elvis Presley, Natalie Cole and Luciano Pavarotti.
Members have traveled with the likes of Woody Herman, Stan Kenton, Ray Charles, Buddy Rich, and Buddy Morrow.

“The motivation behind the Reno Jazz Orchestra is the desire to create great music in the grand tradition of the jazz big band stage performance,” said music director, Chuck Reider. “It's a motivation based upon the simple love of that grand sound and the rush and wonder of playing 17 pieces to a packed house.”

Jamie Davis has been described as a “fine wine which has stood the test of time”, said Reider. He is well known for innovating jazz classics, rolling out the blues, and performing with one foot in the past and the other in present time. “With a repertoire from Cole Porter to Charles Mingus, Davis is one of the industry’s great vocal masters that will leave the audience uplifted and feelin’ good … really good,” Reider reconfirmed.

Sharing his passion for music with his audiences at venues around the globe, Davis performs at Yoshi’s in San Francisco, Dizzy’s and The Blue Note in New York, Milan and Tokyo, at Ronnie Scott’s in London and is a headliner for jazz festivals throughout America.

Clairdee’s soulfully alluring style and rich timbre reveal roots in the gospel church. She has an intimate, vulnerable, and gentle way with a ballad, yet she can swing or shout at will. And her finely honed sensibility and old-school attitude about the importance of communicating with audience is skillfully demonstrated in her gift for putting her own stamp on a song while capturing its essence.

Clairdee is an international touring artist who performs with symphony pops orchestras and big bands, and has worked with acclaimed instrumentalists including Bucky Pizzarelli, Boz Scaggs, Cyrus Chestnut, Houston Person, Shelly Berg, Ken Peplowski, and Chuck Redd. And she has opened for numerous artists as diverse as David Sanborn, the Count Basie Orchestra, Johnny Mathis, and the late, great Etta James.

The EL Cord Foundation, Nevada Arts Council, National Endowment for the Arts, Art Works, Reno Gazette Journal, Healing Healthcare Systems, Thunder Rand & Co., anthe RJO Band of 100 support this annual event.

For more information about the show, visit RenoJazzOrchestra.org or call 775-372-6160.
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